Guj NRE in buy mode again
(The Telegraph, Kolkata, October 25, 2005)

Gujarat NRE has picked up a stake in yet another Australian mining company, its third so far Down Under.

The Calcutta-based company is going to buy a 19.9 per cent stake in Rey Resources for AUS $1.9 million or about Rs 7 crore.

The Sydney-based company has exploration rights in a mine spread over 4000 square kilometers in western Australia. Preliminary studies have already identified thick coal seam.

Moreover, the wholly-owned subsidiaries of Rey Resources are also scouting for copper and gold in South America.

The initial investment is small, but Gujarat NRE will be investing significantly if the exploration work yields positive result.

Gujarat NRE president Sumit Khetan told the Telegraph he would be in a position to comment on the commercially recoverable reserve and the investment for the same in another six months.

The investment by Gujarat NRE entitles it to the first of refusal on any agency agreement for India regarding any time product produced in future by Rey Resources or any of its three wholly-owned subsidiaries in Australia, Chile and Peru.

This is in addition to the benefits that will accrue to the company, the largest manufacturer of low-ash metallurgical coke in the non-captive sector in the country, by virtue of being an equity stakeholding in Rey Resources.

Arun Kumar Jagatramka, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of the company, will be joining the board of Rey Resources soon to strengthen the bonds between the two entities.

Gujarat NRE was the first Indian company to have acquired a coal mine in Australia.